Something seemed to be missing
Myst V departs from the traditional Myst formula in many ways. For starters, Atrus, the common thread through all the Myst games is not really the focal point of the story. His daughter, Yeesha, who first appeared in Myst III as a baby, and then played a prominent role in Myst IV has now grabbed top billing in the family. The story is not as dramatic as the title "End of Ages" would have you think. Frankly, it introduces a lot of new elements not present in the earlier Myst games, but doesn't really provide a lot of backstory. Bits and pieces do get filled in as you play, but when you reach the end of the game (and there are at least 3 endings that I found), you may be asking yourself, "What was that all about?". Myst IV told a much better story, and tied up a lot of loose elements of Atrus' family (particularly the fate of Atrus' two sons that had featured so importantly in the original Myst game, but had been absent in the next two installments).
Essentially, Yeesha sends you on a quest to four new ages. You must collect four slates to form a powerful tablet. You'll be guided in your quest by a mysterious member of the Dni' civilization named Esher who seems to be at odds with Yeesha. Esher will provide nudges in the right direction on the ages. Throughout the ages you'll also encounter strange creatures called the bahro that possess powerful abilities you will need to harness.
The presentation differs sharply from previous games in the series. Myst has always used a mix of live actors surrounded by computer animated environments. At times this was cheesy, and the acting was mixed (good - Brad Dourif in Myst III, bad - the guy who played Sirrus in Myst IV), however, it was still a staple of the series and something players were used to seeing. Myst V, however, uses all computer animation. The computer animated characters are fine, but somehow it just feels wrong..... like you're not playing a Myst game.
Also, some of the great enhancements introduced by Myst IV do not recur in Myst V. First, there was the much more interactive hand icon in Myst IV that resembled a real human hand and was much more lifelike in the way it pointed and moved. I will admit, in the beginning, this icon was disconcerting in Myst IV as it looked like the disembodied hand from the Addams Family, but was a very cool effect once you got used to it. Secondly, the environment in Myst IV was much more interactive. You could use the hand icon the tap on anything in the environment and it would make realistic noises (a "ping" on glass, a thud on wood, etc.). Those are both gone in Myst V, replaced with the static hand icon from the first three games, and much less interaction. The absence of both detracts from the immersion that is so important in a Myst game, or adventure games in general for that matter.
The graphics in the game are very good, with some truly spectacular views, particularly on the space / astrological world of Todelmer. But graphics and comparison to the presentation and storylines of previous Myst games aside, any Myst game truly has to be judged by its puzzles. Unfortunately, I think Myst V falls a bit short here as well. I was able to solve Myst V without the use of a walkthrough (something I was also able to do in Myst III, while I needed occasional hints on the other three games in the series). But somehow, I didn't feel the same sense of accomplishment in this game that I did after completing Myst III - Exile. A number of the "puzzles" aren't truly puzzles to my way of thinking. They are much more studies in trial and error. Keep pushing buttons, pulling levers, etc., and see what happens. Now this does take some skill in recognizing cause and effect, but it also takes away that wonderful "ah ha" moment a gamer has when he / she realizes the proper solution to a challenge. Discovering it at random just doesn't give the same victorious rush.
Myst V's major new innovation revolves around the use of tablets. You can draw simple symbols on these tablets and drop them. This will summon the bahro who will then react to the symbols, if they recognize them. While this was a new twist, and did admittedly provide some of the cooler moments in the game, it also made for a lot of random gameplay which had the player scratching any symbol you encounter on the tablet (and you'll see a lot of them during the game). I "solved" two of the ages very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that I was suspicious. After finishing the game I read Gamespot's walkthough and discovered that I had bypassed huge chunks of these ages simply because I had gotten stuck and started doodling some symbols on the slate. In these two cases, either because I was lucky, or my drawing was so sloppy that the bahro misinterpreted it, my random use of symbols led me directly to the end of the Age. I don't know if this was a glitch or a bug or otherwise, but beating the game feels a little empty now.
Fans of the Myst series will appreciate the various nods to the previous games. You'll find a series of journals that Yeesha has written that tell bits of what transpired in those games. You'll even have the opportunity to return to Myst island and wax nostalgic by seeing the old island using the updated graphics engine.
Adventure games are certainly not one of the more popular genres in gaming (although they do offer a great, deliberate change of pace from all the shooters out there), and I can't see many people outside of players from previous Myst games picking up this title. For those players, I think they will find a lot to enjoy in Myst V as it is still a solid offering. For fans of the series, however, I think this was a disappointing ending. Myst went out with much more of a wimper than a bang.